American Export Lines contacted Henry Dreyfuss as World War II was coming to a close to work on a trio of liners for their Mediterranean route. Funding issues postponed the project, and the focus shifted to a new Four Aces which became a testing ground of sorts for what would become the Independence and Constitution.

To help publicize the ships, a three-day art exhibition was held in the Park Lane Hotel in mid-November 1950. The ships were identical, with the main exception of the First Class Dining Room. Joe Jones created a mural of Boston Harbor for the Independence, while Lyonel Feininger's was one of a Mediterranean harbor for the Constitution.